There are some horses starving in Park County. They are fed just barely enough to keep them alive. Park County Animal Control has been involved for the past few months, but nothing is changing. The horses still have no care, little to no food and no voice. This is more than horses needing their teeth floated and their hooves trimmed.
The horses wear halters that are never removed. They have had no hoof care in such a long time that their hooves are beginning to turn up at the toes. Their hair-clumped coats resemble those of elk shedding, except for the fact that elk have some meat between that hide and their bones and the horses look like walking skeletons. They sleep lying down a good portion of the day and this is not normal horse behaviour.
I'm sick of watching these animals suffer and refuse to any longer be part of the problem by not becoming part of the solution. I've called PCAC 4 times today already and plan on continuing this process until the horses are either relinquished or confiscated. I don't care which. If the owners (whoever you are) would agree to allowing the horses to be cared for properly, I'll do that too.
NO MORE STARVATION and lack of care. No more. I've had it. And so have all the neighbors in the hood that I've talked to and others over the distance of two counties so far. And I'm not done. I'm quite opinionated, I've got a big mouth and I'm sick and tired of being told that calling is all that's needed.
Yeah, you want to know what the message on my phone from PCAC says? It says that the horses have 'grazing material' and water and that is enough for now. They told my neighbor that the horses "aren't bad enough" yet. The grazing material consists of grass that is almost gone and not enough to support 3 starving horses.
WHEN is bad enough???? When one dies? When they all die??
What else do we do? We've contacted Channel 7 'Call 7 Investigators', I'm contacting The Flume, Kathy Sabine at channel 9, hay is being donated, if owners relinquish, we could place them once they were healthy.
If anyone has any ideas other than what I've outlined, please, please help. PM me or email me at
This is horrific, let us know if there is anything we can do for some immediate relief. Can any animal welfare organizations apply pressure?. I know somebody at Morris Animal Foundation. I could make a call.
Is this a situation that has always been problematic or is it recent? Sad to say, a lot of people are struggling to feed their animals these days. If this is an owner who has been a good horse owner for a long time but has fallen on hard times, maybe the thing to do is to find donations to get things back on track until they can either afford to take care of their animals properly again or at least have the stress taken off for a bit enough to stop being in denial that they can no longer keep them?
Has anyone stopped and talked with the owner? Maybe they don't have any meat between their skin and bones either. Before calling in the storm troopers, call the owner, see if they are in need of assistance and if so please let us know. Thank you.
I don't have any knowledge of particulars since I don't know who owns them. I heard they were owned by a vet tech that moved away. Hearsay. No name. I only know that they've always lived a less than stellar existence in a very small space with little care other than hay thrown to them. The problem has gotten significantly worse over the past couple of years but was never good to begin with. The hay was sparse and of very poor quality this winter and now I don't see any.
The most irritating thing is that PCAC says, "They are fine" because they have a little bit of "grazing material". That is getting lower by the minute and already down to dirt in spots, and they've only been turned out on theis grazing material for a few days. PCAC says that if the owner puts them back into the tiny broken down corral they were in, then that is a bad thing, but as long as they have the little grazing material there is, they are fine. BS to that, I say. Even in frickin' Missouri they wouldn't have enough 'grazing material' to last more than a week.
Since contacting the authorities and asking for help does the animals no good, I have no choice but to get louder and more vocal. And so I shall. You see, horses can't actually speak and tell the damn officers that they are starving. But I can.
I have offered through animal control to pay for a farrier, feed and a vet to come help these horses. No answer and like I said, am told the horses are fine. I used to be involved with horse rescues and still am to a degree, but have not found solution with Park County with this situation; nor do I agree on any level with their assessment of the condition of the animals. This is not a situation where some non-horse people see some thin horses and call them in, this is a situation where daily, we drive or walk by and must witness the horrific treatment and starvation of animals. I simply can not stand it any longer. I would like help in getting PCAC to get off their a**es and DO SOMETHING, even if it is only to allow others to care for the poor horses. The response I and my neighbors get is that PCAC says they go out and look and leave notes on the door.
Sorry, that's simply NOT good enough. These horses are in bad condition. You can easily see (from the road!) every bone in their bodies. Their hip bones stick out like racks and the ribs are counted like pickets on a fence. The temples are sunken in and hollow. Before the horses were turned out of their tiny dirt corral, they spent a lot of time lying down which is not normal horse behaivour. They run when food is thrown to them though, happy to eat.
They have never appeared to be loved animals that someone just can't feed, they are neglected. They have never been up to proper weight for the years I have lived here, but have never been this skinny. I know that in this past winter, they were reported to PCAC.
They are getting worse and I don't see why I have to watch them starve to death or be arrested for feeding them. (I don't actually know if you get arrested for feeding someone else's animals, and it's a risk we must take since the "authorities" won't DO ANYTHING. I can't find the answer to that question so if you know, please tell me as the neighbors are all chipping in to provide at least a semblence of proper care for these guys.)
If the owners are on hard times, help is available, yet since PCAC has spoken with the owners and since the situation has changed not at all, I'm guessing they don't want help, right? Feed has already been provided by neighbors in this subdivision and many have called the horses in to PCAC. This is not my crusade, or it wasn't, but I will not just watch three animals die. Like I said, there has been no resolution so I figure if we scream louder and show pictures, maybe that will help, yes? Should I post them here??
JMC, thank you and yes, tell anyone you can think of; beg for their help if they are able. The problem with rescues is that until animals are either confiscated or relinquished, they are still the property of the owner's and doing anything for them, like vet care so desperately needed, is not allowed.
In the past, I've called the State Veterinarian and they have helped resolve problems in the past. They are my first call in the morning. PCAC's telling a neighbor that the horses "Aren't as bad as other cases they are currently handling" does nothing for the horses.
My vet said to document the condition, get all the neighbors to collaborate and send to the media and to PCAC. And so, I shall. If anyone has any other ideas, please, please help.
bootlegger wrote: Has anyone stopped and talked with the owner? Maybe they don't have any meat between their skin and bones either. Before calling in the storm troopers, call the owner, see if they are in need of assistance and if so please let us know. Thank you.
I called the president o four HOA to find out who owns the place, the horses. I understand that the house is rented. I can't get ahold of the listed owner of the property, but the horses do not belong to the tenent from what I can find out. However. PCAC HAS talked to the owner. So, now what do you suggest? I need all the help I can get here. I am not unreasonable. Seriously, what would you do? If storm troopers are the answer, I'll call them right now. If the owners need food, I'll give them some too. I offered this to the PCAC. I am not after the owners, I frankly don't care about what their reasons are except to offer help. I have done that and yet, horses ARE STARVING here.
If you think they need to be fed, but concerned about repercussions, do it! We will form the Lopingalong defense fund seriously if you need help just let us know
The caring and kindness of T and some of the other neighbors is apparent on the 3 horses this morning. As far as PKAC knows, the owner is a business man who lives elsewhere and has the property in question as income property. He'd love to have others care for his animals at know cost to him - well, so be it. Let's all pitch in. Do you think we'll be able to shame him into action ? Naw, neither do I !
